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FREETOWN: RAYMOND DELE AWOONOR-GORDON awogordon@yahoo.co.uk:Like a bolt out of the blues came the announcement, which in itself was unambiguous. It simply stated that President Ernest Bai Koroma has announced the setting up of a commission of Inquiry to investigate alleged culpable individuals of government and institutions, including former ministers, in the Tejan Kabbah led government. “We are not going to tolerate a situation that would allow holders of public offices to abuse state property or embezzle state funds and get away with it” the release stated.

Just as I was reaching for a stiff glass of brandy in celebration, came the niggling fear. Is this for real or a desperate throw of the dice?
This, was followed by a flood of questions?

It’s the announcement a diversionary tactic in the face of such extrinsic problems as the rising cost of food, oil and the credit crunch? Why was the announcement shortly before the council elections?

Is it a result of pressures from a cabal of bloodthirsty individuals bent on revenge for whatever perceived scores? Is this a calculated attempt to checkmate the opposition following its recent barrage of statements on the state of the nation’s finances at the change over of government?

Why is it selective? Will the spotlight be beamed on Kabbah himself, since the buck stopped at his desk and he never for once disciplined any of those under him thus giving a tacit endorsement to their character and whatever they may have been doing?

How can a government that has failed to let us know exactly how much it inherited, what it has earned and how it has been spending our meagre resources, resort to a non-planned investigation just when the media-trails were focussing on its own handling of the nation’s finances?

Is this a mass deception or a grand hysterical display? Is it a genuine attempt to clean the Aegean stable or is it a message to those in power now that the anti-corruption train has left the terminus?

Because the errors of analysis on the side of the government has continued to pile up like corpses, Johnny Nash’s old classics “there are more questions than answers” kept reverberating in my head and I needed the brandy more than ever.

The ludicrous decision for one, lacked clarity and its timing casts a sinister shadow over the motive and its ultimate goal.

True, the final summary report of the 2007 Presidential Transition Team, did recommend that several cases of widespread corruption and mismanagement in the last government be probed, but till now, I am yet to see, hear or read a government white paper on that confidential audit.

EBK no doubt is keen to instil a healthy dose of realism and change into the nation’s psyche; but the bizarre sequence of events might, to some, indicate a zeal for abstract ideals rather than a true compassion for the horror of the tenure of the Kabbah government and sadly enough, the previous regimes including that of the APC.

As it is, there no clear moral theme and uplifting lessons to be learnt, as the probe will only open up the inherent division within the fabric of our fragile society.

Don’t get me wrong. No doubt; the shocks of widespread corruption, recklessness and absolute disregard that characterised the Kabbah regime are still rumbling into the present.

But putting the past administration under the microscope at this point in time will simply become a courtroom drama in the theatre of the absurd and raise several questions, one behind the other, that will recede back into the darkness of our lives.

Given the intricate nature of such investigations and apart from the shock and awe that the ugly revelations of gross mismanagement of public funds will reveal at the sittings, can the government sincerely say it will give any direction as to the way forward for Sierra Leone?

If that is the goal, then this administration owes, we, the people of this great country, unreserved apology for conning us into handing our future to a clueless group.

Back to the probe issue. Once the hearings have exposed the way things were done in the past, how will the government ensure that the investigation will not move into territories beyond its mandate. How does the government plan to dispel speculations that some people are targets and that the probe is a score-settling charade.

Who will be in the committee that will not be seen as a puppet on a string?
There is no guarantee that probe members/judges, selected by government and sensing the pulse of the vociferous few and the thirst for blood in some quarters, will not start playing to the gallery with probable populist and illegal judgements that will render the whole exercise simultaneously tragic and farcical.

To me the probe is like saying it does not matter whether the cat is black or white as long as it catches the rats. And this is why I did say that EBK has suddenly found himself an instrument in the hands of some unseen political calculators. Powers guided by the cold calculation of strategic interests than by principles.

Unless the government is deliberately choosing to ignore the unmistakable signal of the can of worms at the depth of the political establishment, the whole probe issue will be drowned in the clangs and fangs of intrigues and endless legal battles.

When aiming for the skies, it makes sense to ensure that you are not doing so with a catapult because this will amount to self-deception. Any judgement handed down now will only be reversed by the next administration; no matter how long that takes.Past experiences attest to that.

If the government is not suffering from illusions of grandeur, the above and several others are legitimate questions and fears from those who harbour them. Some steps and policies just appear too populist and easy-way out; especially if wrongly timed.

Sometimes, looking backwards may not be the best way forward and while this course of action may appear to underline EBK’s resolve to tackle serious measures to build the economy and the society as well as put Sierra Leone on the path of sustainable development, the overall interest of the nation, its democratic values and the people need leadership and not pretensions.

Democracy is founded on transparency and accountability. Trying to drag those perceived to be responsible for the rot in the society and their incredible scandalous and obscene display of the past decade, before the court of public opinion, is one thing, doing it with equity and justice is another ball game entirely.

The holy book says he that has no sins, let him cast the first stone. It’s 10 months, yet the present leadership itself cannot say that it has been wholly transparent.
Because, it took a speculative report by a local tabloid to force the government to reveal that in eight months, it spent a colossal seven hundred thousand dollars ($700,000) on official junketing.

It is also common knowledge that several of its officials have been travelling on so-called government trips for ridiculous conferences that has no immediate bearings to the state of affairs in the country and attending more APC party jamborees on such trips than the so-called official duties.

The president made series of promises and set a number of targets including dates that have not turned out exactly so and even the much-touted electricity is still far from the picture conveyed in the veiled promise that he made.

Personal and institutional strategies to combat corruption should involve socio-cultural engineering and be led by the leader himself. It is nigh impossible to have a corrupt free society and the fewer the possibilities for corruption; the less likely people will choose to engage in it.

So for one, the EBK regime should do us all a favour and rather than drag us back into the past, ensure that the operations of government and its officials from now on, are rule-governed. It should walk the talk.

In almost one year, have there been changes in the way government conducts official business? Has there been any improvement, even the smallest kind, in the state of social infrastructures? Are our utilities functioning any better?
These are the challenges. These should be the goals.

Without a shadow of doubt, I believe that if there are reported cases, such as the one highlighted in the transition team’s report, that one arm of government was alleged to have lent more than one million dollars to an unspecified recipient, then let the appropriate agencies swing into action and pursue the case to its logical conclusion. This should be done in an open manner and free of government interference.

Right now, there are too many more urgent and pressing national issues fighting for the meagre available resources than wasting it on a complex, time-consuming and financially draining national investigation.

There are cheaper options with less political and social implications and complications.

If we are desirous of fighting corruption, let us focus on both the preventive and punishment of the crime. Let us address the long-delays in prosecuting corrupt people. Let us grant independence to, and strengthen a truly free Anti-Corruption body. Let us put in place a system of checks and balances that makes corruption inconvenient.

Accountability should shoot to the limelight of the new political agenda and any involvement in politics.
That way, anyone who runs foul of the law would have known from the onset, the risks involved in his acts.

Those who are blinded by the rhetoric of revolution and attitudinal change should realise that the underlying question is, what’s the point?
There has to be a clear and vibrant driving force.
In this case, ther appear to be none

The tremor of war isn’t over and the political gamble of this ‘selective’ investigation may set the tone for the rest of the life of this administration.
What the people want are measures to ensure that the past never repeats itself.
No more; no less.